Transporting a truck im buying from another state

rollnthunder · Apr 2, 2006

Im in the process of buying a straight truck and im trying to find out what i need to do to legally transport it from the state i purchase it to where i live.I currently live in michigan and couple of the trucks i have found are in florida or in that general area.I dont want to pay for a truck that i have not seen.And i dont want to fly back and forth to take care of plates.The insurance i know i can do over the phone.I know in the state of michigan you can transport a vehicle that you have purchased from the place of purchase to your residents with out plates.But im not sure on commercial vehicles and from out of state.Has anyone delt with this.The truck im looking at is not plated at all so i couldnt even drive on his plates.Thanks for any help

greg334 · Apr 2, 2006

RE: Transporting a truck im buying from another st

Temp plate from the dealer, insurance and any documentation that the dealer provides you. You will have to scale and may have to prove that you just bought the truck when you scale.

rollnthunder · Apr 2, 2006

RE: Transporting a truck im buying from another st

Well the only problem i see with a temp plate is im buying from a private individual.So i wonder what i will have to do.

greg334 · Apr 2, 2006

RE: Transporting a truck im buying from another st

>Well the only problem i see with a temp plate is im buying
>from a private individual.So i wonder what i will have to
>do.

Call FL DMV and ask if they can issue one for transport, 30 day tag like the one we have here in MI. I have done this with IL and NY.

cliffn · Apr 5, 2006

RE: Transporting a truck im buying from another st

A couple of years ago, we purchased a truck in Ohio, drove it to Texas (our home) then to Illinois before we went into service with the truck. I do not remember all the details regarding the plate, etc. but I DO remember that at one scalehouse I was requested to come in and the guy asked if I had a log book. He actually acted surprised that I had one and it was up to date. I had been advised to do this even though the truck was not "leased on" to a company yet as it might cause a problem. So...you might also keep this in mind. This advice had been given to my wife by DOT when she called them. She was told that "techically" the log was not required but you might just run into that "over-ambitious" DOT officer who would give you a problem. Hope this helps and good luck with the truck.

Cliff

davekc · Apr 5, 2006

RE: Transporting a truck im buying from another st

Information above is correct. We have sold numerous trucks in both TN and FL. You will need a 30 day commercial transit tag. A bill of sale, personal ID, and copy of title. Keep in mind that you can't haul frieght with that tag, but you can pick up the truck, go home, orientation ect. County registar or courthouse is where you retrieve the tag.

Forgot to mention...prior to going to orientation, you should pay your state IRP account office a visit and set up your account. You will be unable to haul a load legally until this is complete and you have recieved your IRP plate. Remember to have all of your title work done prior to this if buying in a different state from which you reside.

Davekc
owner
21 years
PantherII
EO moderator

rollnthunder · Apr 5, 2006

RE: Transporting a truck im buying from another st

Thanks for all the help.This is the first time ive had to bring a truck from so far away with out them having a valid plate on it.But i think i found a way around it.My friends dad is a Dealer and he may let me borrow his Dealer plate to go and get it.I know i cant hall freight i just want to get it to michigan and all that then i will go to irp and hand them alot of cash The big problem is i want to plate it here in michigan not florida so i dont want to get a 30 day tag because that will require paying florida sales tax and trasferring the title and registering and all that in florida atleast thats what i think is involved....lol

davekc · Apr 5, 2006

RE: Transporting a truck im buying from another st

All you would need is a transit tag. It wouldn't require it to be titled in FL. Additionally, Fl is a tax exempt state on commercial equipment with a lease copy and DOT number.

Davekc
owner
21 years
PantherII
EO moderator

greg334 · Apr 5, 2006

RE: Transporting a truck im buying from another st

I don't think you need to worry about sales tax or transfering the title in Florida to get a 30 day tag.

As for the dealer plate, I know from a ticket one of my employees got by using a dealer plate in florida, it is risky. We got a truck on a tempbasis from a dealer as my new truck was getting a new box to replace the one that was ripped apart by my warehouse door. So I sent the truck to JAX to pick up a load of parts and equipment, he got stopped on I10 and issued a improperly plated vehicle ticket. They seem not to care if you don't work for the dealer or own the dealership - they want you to 'properly' plate the vehicle in their state. The court upheld the ticket, which I paid.

rollnthunder · Apr 6, 2006

RE: Transporting a truck im buying from another st

>I don't think you need to worry about sales tax or
>transfering the title in Florida to get a 30 day tag.
>
>As for the dealer plate, I know from a ticket one of my
>employees got by using a dealer plate in florida, it is
>risky. We got a truck on a tempbasis from a dealer as my new
>truck was getting a new box to replace the one that was
>ripped apart by my warehouse door. So I sent the truck to
>JAX to pick up a load of parts and equipment, he got stopped
>on I10 and issued a improperly plated vehicle ticket. They
>seem not to care if you don't work for the dealer or own the
>dealership - they want you to 'properly' plate the vehicle
>in their state. The court upheld the ticket, which I paid.

But i wouldnt be hauling freight i would just be transporting it to my home so i can go get it plated.Thats all i would use the dealer plate for.Thats what dealer plates are for....

greg334 · Apr 6, 2006

RE: Transporting a truck im buying from another st

I am sorry, I didn't make my point well. What I was told by the cops and the judge is that it don't matter what I was doing, if I didn't work for the dealer or the vehicle is not purchased and transported by the dealer, the use of the plate in Florida is pretty much illegal - they will not reconginize an out of state dealer plate for these reasons. This also happened to a friend of mine when he took a loaner car to Orlando, they nailed him twice.

just trying to help.

rollnthunder · Apr 7, 2006

RE: Transporting a truck im buying from another st

Thanks for making that clear.I will make some calls and see what i have to do to get a temp tag so i can get it home